Strauss & Co is set to captivate art enthusiasts and collectors with its May ART auction, a meticulously curated six-session timed online auction running from 2 to 12 May 2025. The event is anchored by two compelling private collections: Selected Works from the Chris Tugwell Collection and The Collection of Matthys Swanepoel.
This curated sale presents a rare opportunity to experience South African art through the discerning eyes of two passionate collectors whose lives were profoundly shaped by their deep connections with artists and their work.
Art Club: Celebrating the Personal Connections to Art
The first session, titled Art Club, underscores Strauss & Co’s commitment to art education and dialogue. Launched in 2023, Art Club fosters meaningful engagement with art through conversation. For this session, Strauss & Co invited members of its staff to select artworks that resonated with them and to share the personal stories behind their choices. Appropriately titled “This is my favourite artwork because…”, the session features works accompanied by intimate reflections, offering unique insights into the emotional and interpretive layers of art appreciation.
Highlights include:
- Elize Vossgätter’s Thick Skinned I (Estimate: R30,000 – R40,000)
- Sanell Aggenbach’s Bleak (Estimate: R15,000 – R20,000)
- Diane Victor’s Bad Word – Swine (Estimate: R20,000 – R30,000)
- Jackson Hlungwani’s Fish (Estimate: R20,000 – R30,000)
Chris Tugwell Collection: A Legacy of Artistic Vision
The sale also includes a selection of works from the late Chris Tugwell (1938–2021), a revered South African painter, gallery owner, and art patron. The forty-two works from his estate reflect his eye for lyrical depictions of rural life, seascapes, figural studies, and still lifes.
Notable highlights from the Chris Tugwell Collection include:
- Walter Battiss’s Monochromatic Frieze (Estimate: R30,000 – R50,000)
- Adriaan Boshoff’s Still Life with Fish (Estimate: R25,000 – R35,000)
- Irmin Henkel’s Still Life with Pomegranates and a Vase of Flowers (Estimate: R25,000 – R35,000)
- Ephraim Ngatane’s Drawing of a Hand (Estimate: R3,000 – R5,000)
The broader collection also features works by Errol Boyley, Dino Paravano, Mari Vermeulen-Breedt, Titta Fasciotti, Michael Heyns, and Durant Sihlali, paying homage to Tugwell’s influential role in the South African art scene.
Matthys Swanepoel Collection: A Collector’s Passion for South African Art
The third session is dedicated to the remarkable collection of Matthys Swanepoel, a lifelong educator whose art journey began humbly in 1971 with a work by Belgian painter Frans Claerhout. Over five decades, Swanepoel carefully curated a collection marked by exceptional depth and strong connections with local artists.
Key works in this session include:
- Gerard Sekoto, Christo Coetzee, and Gregoire Boonzaier
- Eleanor Esmonde-White’s Portrait Study
- Solomon Siko’s Early Drawings and Paintings
- Peter Clarke and Selwyn Pekeur’s Rare Works
Rare and Important Books: A Literary Dimension to Collecting
May ART also features a curated selection of rare books, encompassing significant works on Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Cezanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, as well as publications on Surrealism, Sculpture, and 20th-century Modernism. These literary gems provide historical and contextual insights, appealing to both collectors and scholars alike.
For more information on the May ART auction and to view the full catalogue, visit www.straussart.co.za.
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